April 11, 2026

Dan Diamond, et al., of the Washington Post: “A federal appeals court said the White House can temporarily continue construction on ... Donald Trump’s planned White House ballroom while punting a central question — if pausing the $400 million project threatens the president, as Trump claims — back to the federal judge who halted the project last month. In its order issued Saturday, a three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled 2-1 that U.S. District Judge Richard Leon should clarify a series of national security-related questions that could affect ongoing construction. The panel also said that the White House could keep working on the project until April 17, granting the administration three extra days before Leon’s pause takes effect.”

Chris Hippensteel, et al., of the New York Times: “The Manhattan district attorney’s office is opening an investigation into Representative Eric Swalwell of California, a candidate for governor, a day after multiple women accused him of sexual assault and misconduct in published news reports.... A spokesperson for the Manhattan district attorney’s office said in a statement on Saturday that it was urging 'survivors and anyone with knowledge of these allegations' to contact its Special Victims Division.... One of the allegations detailed against Mr. Swalwell took place in New York City. According to The Chronicle, a former staffer of Mr. Swalwell’s alleged that he sexually assaulted her in a New York hotel room after an awards event in 2024 when she had been heavily intoxicated and as she tried to refuse him.”

Maureen Dowd of the New York Times dishes dirt on Melanie: “For mysterious reasons, the Slovenian Sphinx stunned the West Wing, walking into the grand entrance hall of the White House to dump kerosene on the flickering Epstein fire.... The irony of Melania bitterly complaining about the sort of slimy tactics that fueled her husband’s rise was not lost on listeners.... It was also astonishing that she felt compelled to clear up the little matter of how she and Donald met[:]... 'Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump. I met my husband, by chance, at a New York City party in 1998.'” 

Dowd goes on to describe how Paolo Zampolli -- who holds a vague ambassador-y sinecure in the Trump administration -- “takes credit for introducing Donald and Melania.” But read on -- the link is a gift link -- because therein lies a tale, a tale that may explain Melanie's surprise remarks. It seems Paolo had a long-time Brazilian lover named Amanda Ungaro with whom he had a child. During a custody battle last year, Zampolli may have goosed ICE to deport Ungaro. Dowd writes, “Early Thursday just after midnight, Ungaro, clearly upset that Melania didn’t help her in the ICE deportation, posted threatening messages directed at her on X. One now-deleted post read: 'I have nothing left to lose in my life. I will tear down the entire system — be careful with me bitch.' In another, she said: 'Maybe you should be afraid of what I know … of who you are, and who your husband is.' [MB: In another post Ungaro wrote, 'Will take legal action against you and your pedophile husband.'] Melania’s statement came later that day...[.]”

     ~~~ Marie: Could we quit pretending that Melania & her friends were "models" in the way Cindy Crawford & Beverley Johnson were models? Melania was a party girl, and in one way or another, she was paid to be a party girl. That doesn't necessarily mean she was a prostitute, but it's safe to assume that sex was very often part of the exchange. In that regard, Melania -- whether she knows it or not -- was a victim because the power dynamic was so lopsided, particularly because she could be kicked out of the country if she didn't deliver. Despite the sometimes glitzy venues, it is a sordid, unstable life. It's not much fun.  

Hungary. Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: Prime Minister Viktor “Orban, seeking a fifth term amid an economy widely seen as terrible — with high unemployment, virtually no growth and threadbare social services — is running on fear. Much of his pitch revolves around the fantastical claim that his center-right opponent, Peter Magyar, is going to drag Hungary to war in Ukraine.... Heading into the election, most polls show Magyar’s Tisza Party well ahead, and some indicate it’s on track for a landslide.... An Orban defeat would have serious implications for the conservative movement worldwide.... More than any other politician, Orban showed conservatives worldwide how to use government power to wage the culture wars.... And in a poetic coincidence, he’s faltering at the same moment that the intellectual vanguard of the MAGA movement is cracking up under the weight of Trump’s destructive, humiliating war in Iran.... Of course, the victory of Magyar, Tisza’s leader, isn’t assured.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: One thing that has struck me about the U.S., Hungary & other right-leaning countries is that the majority of people in those countries don't care a whit about democracy or human rights. When a right-wing leader loses, it's because the voters think he's done something to mess up their own lives: he's raised the price of gas, he hasn't eradicated Covid. It's not because he's corrupt or criminal or has not upheld democratic principles. That the U.S. could elect Trump, or that Hungary -- which had suffered under Eastern bloc repression -- could elect Orban, is all the evidence you need that democracy is a profoundly flawed system of government. I'm not sure what a better one would be. It may be that human nature is such that a more perfect system simply cannot prevail. 

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Sarah Kaplan of the Washington Post: “NASA’s Orion module splashed into the Pacific Ocean just after 8 p.m. Eastern on Friday, safely delivering the four astronauts of the Artemis II mission from their record-setting journey around the moon. The successful landing marks the conclusion of an important test for NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the moon’s surface and eventually push deeper into the solar system. Artemis II was the first crewed mission to utilize NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion crew module — demonstrating that the agency’s equipment can propel people out of Earth’s orbit and bring them safely home.” ~~~

~~~ Kenneth Chang of the New York Times: “The successful conclusion of Artemis II sets NASA on a path to extend the agency’s achievements in space exploration, and, for now at least, the United States is ahead of China in a 21st century space race. Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch of NASA and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency were the first people to leave low-Earth orbit since 1972.”

The New York Times' liveblog of developments in the Trumplebibi war are here. From the pinned item at 6:05 am ET: “Vice President JD Vance arrived in Pakistan on Saturday for peace talks with Iranian officials, as disagreements over the Israeli assault in Lebanon and Iran’s grip over the Strait of Hormuz rattled the fragile cease-fire. Mr. Vance was joined in Islamabad by ... [Donald] Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The Iranian delegation, which includes Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s Parliament, arrived earlier in the Pakistani capital.... By Saturday afternoon, very little information about the proceedings had been provided by the participants, including the timing of expected talks between the Americans and Iranians.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Great! Former Secretary of State John Kerry told Jen Psaki Wednesday night that he had worked extensively with Araghchi and that Araghchi was "very smart." On "our" side: Dumb & Dumber, with their new sidekick JayDee, who cannot negotiate the purchase of some doughnuts in an American doughnut shop.

You Knew This Would Happen. Julian Barnes of the New York Times: “Iran has been unable to open the Strait of Hormuz to more shipping traffic because it cannot locate all of the mines it laid in the waterway and lacks the capability to remove them, according to U.S. officials. The development is one reason Iran has not been able to quickly comply with the Trump administration’s admonitions to let more traffic pass through the strait. It is also potentially a complicating factor as Iranian negotiators and a U.S. delegation led by Vice President JD Vance meet in Pakistan this weekend for peace talks. Iran used small boats to mine the strait last month, soon after the United States and Israel began their war against the country.... Iran left a path through the strait open, allowing ships that pay a toll to pass through. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has issued warnings that ships could collide with sea mines, and semiofficial news organizations have published charts showing safe routes.... Iran mined the strait haphazardly, U.S. officials said. It is not clear that Iran recorded where it put every mine. And even when the location was recorded, some mines were placed in a way that allowed them to drift or move.... As with land mines, removing nautical mines is far more difficult than placing them.” The link appears to be a gift link.

Felicia Schwartz of Politico: “Israel isn’t getting the U.S. backing for an extended war with Iran that it wanted. So the country is switching to a new regional strategy — one that hinges on a fragile mix of military pressure, U.S. diplomacy and, ultimately, the prospect of acting alone.... Israel is trying to find a way to degrade Tehran without further antagonizing a U.S. administration already angry that it has continued attacks on Lebanon. Its primary aim is for Washington to reach a deal with Iran that addresses longstanding concerns about its nuclear and missile programs without delivering the kind of sanctions relief Israeli officials fear would entrench Tehran’s hardline leadership.... Part of the Israeli approach is continuing a certain level of attacks against Lebanon amid discussions.”

Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "... Donald Trump inadvertently made a damning admission about himself in his latest tirade against the far-right commentators who have turned against the MAGA movement over the Iran war, Greg Sargent wrote for The New Republic on Friday.... What caught Sargent's eye was Trump's characterization that 'Bankrupt Alex Jones … says some of the dumbest things, and lost his entire fortune, as he should have, for his horrendous attack on the families of the Sandy Hook shooting victims, ridiculously claiming it was a hoax.'... [Sargent wrote,] 'That’s interesting. Because after Jones first pushed his vile conspiracy theories about the 2012 massacre ... some in Newtown publicly called on then-president Trump in 2017 to condemn Jones’s conspiracy theorizing about it. And they say it never happened....'... Ultimately, Sargent wrote, Trump's ability to suddenly find a conscience on this, only after Jones criticized him, speaks volumes about his character." 

Trump Pledge of Allegiance: ... With Liberty & Pardons for All! Andrew Feinberg of the Independent: “Since returning to office last year..., Donald Trump has used his pardon-issuing power to reward friends and allies, campaign donors, and the thousands of supporters who stormed the Capitol during a violent riot.... Now, he is reportedly promising pardons to a broad swath of his aides as a way of shielding them from consequences for any potentially illegal acts committed in his service. According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump has repeatedly promised pardons to administration officials on multiple occasions, including during one recent meeting at which he reportedly said he’d 'pardon everyone who has come within 200 feet of the Oval' before he leaves office in January 2029. The Journal also reported that he’d had a separate conversation with aides in his private dining room during which he’d mused about holding a news conference to announce the mass pardons in the waning days of his administration.... But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt characterized Trump’s promise of preemptive pardons are an example of his sense of humor, telling the Journal in a statement that the newspaper 'should learn to take a joke' while adding the caveat that Trump’s pardon power remains 'absolute.'”

~~~ New Plans for Arc de Trump “Going Very Good.” Dan Diamond of the Washington Post: “The Trump administration on Friday unveiled new renderings for ... Donald Trump’s planned 250-foot triumphal arch, his most significant effort to remake Washington’s skyline, as officials begin the process of seeking formal approval for the controversial project. The renderings prepared by Harrison Design feature a golden inscription reading 'One Nation Under God' on the arch, which is topped with a winged Lady Liberty statue and flanked at its base by statues of four golden lions. The project is slated for Memorial Circle, a traffic roundabout near Arlington National Cemetery, which city planners have eyed for more than a century as the site of a potential monument.... 'You got to be kidding,' Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday, after being informed that military veterans were suing to stop the project. 'I think it’s going very good, and our veterans are the ones that should like it.'” The ABC News story is here.

Kathryn Wilkins of Mediaite: “On Friday, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD) formally called on the White House physician to conduct a cognitive exam of President Donald Trump, citing a series of recent 'incoherent, volatile, profane, deranged, and threatening' public statements and outbursts that he argues raise serious concerns about the president’s mental fitness. In the letter, which was posted on X by veteran reporter Scott MacFarlane, Raskin urged the Physician to the President, Capt. Sean P. Barbabella, to 'conduct a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment' of Trump and make the results available to Congress.” ~~~

     ~~~ Sarah Rumpf of Mediaite: “The White House fired back at Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) after he called for the White House physician to conduct a cognitive exam of ... Donald Trump...[:] 'Lightweight Jamie Raskin is a stupid person’s idea of a smart person. President Trump’s sharpness, unmatched energy, and historic accessibility stand in stark contrast to what we saw during the past four years when Democrats like Raskin intentionally covered up Joe Biden’s serious mental and physical decline from the American people.'” MB: That definitely makes me a stupid person, because Raskin is my idea of a smart person.  

Suddenly, Suddenly, Comer Sees the Light! Dan Mangan of CNBC: “Victims of Jeffrey Epstein will get the chance to speak about the late sex offender’s crimes at hearings of the House committee investigating him and his procurer, Ghislaine Maxwell, the panel’s chairman said Friday. Rep. James Comer’s promise to hold those hearings came a day after first lady Melania Trump urged Congress to give 'women who have been victimized by Epstein ... a public hearing specifically centered around the survivors.' 'I agree with the first lady and appreciate what she said,' Comer, R-Ky., said in a Fox News interview. 'We will have hearings.'... 'I’ve always planned on having hearings with the victims.'...” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: And when exactly are you planning to put Melanie herself under oath, Jimbo? As someone on MS NOW observed yesterday, it's mighty curious that you subpoenaed one former first lady (and threatened to pursue criminal contempt charges against her) -- Hillary Clinton -- who had never even met Epstein, but we haven't heard a peep out of you about subpoenaing the current first lady, who has a long history with both Epstein & Maxwell.

Team Trump Has Another Emily Litella Moment. Ali Swenson of the AP: “... Donald Trump’s administration this week acknowledged it made a significant error in figures it used to help justify a fraud probe into New York’s Medicaid program, a glaring mistake that undercuts a federal campaign to tackle waste, mostly in Democratic-led states. The error ...  prompted health analysts to question how many of the Republican administration’s sweeping anti-fraud efforts around the country were based on faulty findings.... [The] mischaracterizations ... also reflected a common criticism that’s been made of Trump’s second administration — that it tends to attack first and confirm the facts later. 'These numbers could have been cleared up in a phone call, so it’s really slapdash,' said [the] Fiscal Policy Institute's ... Michael Kinnucan, whose recent analysis called attention to the Trump administration’s inaccurate claim. The mistake appeared in comments made last month by Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, in a social media video and in a letter to New York’s Democratic governor announcing the fraud investigation.”

Marie: You'll be so surprised to learn that Bill Pulte, who has falsely accused a number of "enemies of Trump" of minor white-collar crimes, is himself very likely a tax-cheating felonious white-collar criminal (allegedly!). ~~~  

~~~ Hannah Levintova & Dan Friedman of Mother Jones: “On Friday, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden sent a letter to Bill Pulte, the embattled director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to demand information about a mysterious Pulte donation recently uncovered by Mother Jones. The donation, they write, raises questions about whether Pulte’s nonprofit sent money to Donald Trump while disguising it as charity to the poor.... Bill Pulte’s charity, Team Pulte, sent $65,000 to a nonprofit called 'One World Love LLC' in 2023 to help the 'underserved,' according to the charity’s tax filings. But our February reporting found that One World Love does not appear to be a nonprofit and is instead a corporate entity with ties to the law firm that represented ... Donald Trump in his efforts to prove election fraud and to avoid paying damages after the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol.... Mother Jones reported that there are several inconsistencies between what’s disclosed in Team Pulte’s tax filings and what is known from public records.”   

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California. Laurel Rosenhall & Madison Kircher of the New York Times: “Representative Eric Swalwell of California faced accusations of sexual misconduct on Friday, prompting immediate calls for him to drop out of the governor’s race as key Democratic supporters abandoned him. The San Francisco Chronicle published an account Friday from a woman who was not named but gave detailed descriptions of several sexual encounters she said she had with Mr. Swalwell, including two instances in which she said he had assaulted her when she was too intoxicated to consent. Hours later, CNN published a report with four women accusing Mr. Swalwell of a range of misconduct, including a former staff member who appeared to be the same person in The Chronicle’s account. CNN’s report also described allegations from a Democratic activist who said Mr. Swalwell had touched her thigh and tried to kiss her in the booth of a bar before bringing her to his hotel room, and from two women who said he had sent them unsolicited photos of his penis. Mr. Swalwell immediately denied the accusations and said later on Friday that he would continue to fight them.” ~~~

     ~~~ The San Francisco Chronicle story is here. The CNN story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Tran Nguyen & Michael Blood of the AP: “In a stunning political reversal, prominent supporters of Rep. Eric Swalwell’s campaign for California governor withdrew their support Friday after the congressmember denied allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman twice, including when she worked for him. Swalwell was among the leading Democrats in the race to replace outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom. But in just hours, he saw his most prominent supporters - including U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff and powerful labor unions - drop their endorsements and call for his exit from the race. Newsom, a likely 2028 presidential candidate who has avoided engaging in the contest to replace him, said in a statement: 'As we continue to learn more, these allegations from multiple sources are deeply troubling and must be taken seriously.' Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who hasn’t endorsed in the race, said the 'serious allegations' must be investigated. 'As I discussed with Congressman Swalwell, it is clear that is best done outside of a gubernatorial campaign,' she said in social media posted by her staff.” ~~~

     ~~~ Melanie Mason & Jeremy White of Politico: “Rep. Eric Swalwell’s campaign for governor was reeling Friday after two news reports detailed accusations of sexual assault and misconduct, with multiple staffers resigning and both prominent allies and rival candidates calling on the California Democrat to exit the race.... And a pro-Swalwell independent expenditure committee said it was suspending operations. Swalwell’s two campaign co-chairs, Reps. Jimmy Gomez and Adam Gray, called on Swalwell to drop out — a stunning rebuke from key surrogates who had helped introduce Swalwell to power players in Sacramento, where both served in the state Assembly.... The exodus, which began just before the San Francisco Chronicle published a report detailing a former staffer’s claims, jolted California’s marquee race just weeks before ballots start landing in voters’ mailboxes.” ~~~

     ~~~ Daniel Lippman & Melanie Mason of Politico: “A former employee of Rep. Eric Swalwell signed an agreement with confidentiality and non-disparagement requirements when they left his office, despite the California Democrat’s claim that no one on his staff signed an NDA during his tenure. The agreement ... pertained to a workplace discrimination dispute and was not related to sexual harassment, according to the employee, who was granted anonymity because they feared retaliation. The document is dated within the last five years; Politico agreed not to disclose the specific year to protect the employee’s anonymity.”

New York/Albania! Jeff Offenhartz of the AP: “Former New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced Friday that he had become a citizen of Albania, putting him one step closer to his oft-repeated dream of leaving politics behind for a life abroad. Adams, a Democrat, received the honorary citizenship 'at his request,' according to an official decree from the country’s president, Bajram Begaj. The news was first reported in the Albanian press and confirmed by a spokesperson for Adams, who said the ex-mayor had 'long been a friend and ally of the Albanian-American community.'... It wasn’t immediately clear what, if anything, Adams planned to do with his new citizenship. But he has previously expressed a desire to move far from his hometown of New York City.... Shortly after dropping his ailing bid for reelection, Adams embarked on a four-day trip to Albania, meeting with the country’s Prime Minister Edi Rama and members of his Cabinet, along with local business leaders. The trip was paid for in part by the Albanian government.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Bad news, Mr. Mayor: Albania has a recently-upgraded extradition treaty with the U.S.  

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Hungary. Andrew Higgins & Lili Rutai of the New York Times: “With Hungary about to hold a general election [tomorrow, Sunday] that could end [Prime Minister Viktor] Orban’s 16 years in power — an outcome that neither Washington nor Moscow wants — ... [there is] a growing list of defectors from institutions that the governing Fidesz party for years counted as loyal allies. The latest of these was Viktor Norman Virag, a former senior member of the National Bureau of Investigation, who on Wednesday told Partizan, an opposition media outlet, that 80 percent of his work involved 'meeting political expectations,' which in one case meant dropping a case against a Russian suspected of being a cybercriminal.... Their decisions to abandon ship came as Fidesz slumped in the polls behind Tisza, an upstart opposition party led by Peter Magyar, himself a former Orban loyalist who split with the governing party in 2024.” ~~~

~~~ Here's a nice headline in the London Economic: "Hungary Election: Orban falls FURTHER behind in polls after Trump, Vance endorsements."